LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT

I. Legislative power in a bicameral Congress

The legislative power shall be vested in the congress of the Philippines which shall consist of senate and house of representatives, except to the extent reserved to the people by the provision on initiative and referendum.

Legislative power- is essentially the power to make laws, alter or repeal them.

Classification of power of congress:

(1) General legislative power- it is the power to enact laws intended as rules of conduct to govern the relations among individuals or between the individuals or state;

(2) Specific powers- they are the powers which the constitution expressly directs or authorizes congress to exercise, e.g. to appropriate money, to impeach the president, to act as a constituent assembly , etc.

(3) Implied powers- they are those essential or necessary to the effective exercise of the powers expressly granted, e.g. power to conduct inquiry in aid legislation, to punish for contempt, etc.

(4) Inherent powers- they are the powers which are processed and can be exercised be every government as attributes of sovereignty, e.g. power of taxation, eminent domain, and police power.

II. The senate

composed of 24 senators, who shall serve a fixed term of office (6 years), with a provision for reelection.

No senator may serve for more than 2 consecutive terms.Qualifications:a) Natural-born Filipinob) at least 35 years old on the day of the election;c) able to read and write;d) a registered voter ; ande) A resident of the Philippines for not less than 2 years

immediately preceding the election.

III. The house of representatives Composed of not more than 250 members, elected from

legislative/congressional districts and through a party-list system.

Term office – 3 years, with a provision for reelection. No member of the house representatives shall serve for more than 3 consecutive terms .

Qualifications:1. Natural – born filipino;2. at least 25 years old on the day of the election;3. Able to read and write;4. except a party-list representative, a registered voter in the

district in which he shall be elected; and5. A resident thereof for not less than 1 year preceding the

election.

IV. The party-List System

aim: attain the broadest possible representation of all interest in the law and policy-making body.

composition: party-list representatives shall constitute 20% of the total membership of the house (50 seats).

a political party or organization need to get at least 2% of the total votes cast under the party-list system to get one (1) seat in congress.

Maximum number of seats per party- 3.

V. Kinds of election for members of congress

1. Regular – held on the second Monday of may.

2. Special – held in case a vacancy arises…the elected Senator or Representative shall serve only for the unexpired term.

VI. Rights and privileges enjoyed by members of congress

Parliamentary immunity – intended to enable members of congress to discharged their duties adequately without fear of prosecution. It consists of:

(a) freedom or privilege from arrest; and(b) Freedom from being questioned for speech and debate.

When immunity cannot be invoked:1. The member is being questioned in congress itself. 2. The offense by reason of which the arrest is made is

punishable by more than 6 years imprisonment: OR3. Congress is no longer in session, i.e. adjourned.When immunity cannot be claimed:4. The member is not acting as a member of congress; AND

VII. Session of congress

1. Regular – congress shall convene once every year on the fourth Monday of July.The president has the prerogative to appear or grace the opening /convening of congress

2. Special – it takes place when the president calls congress, while it is in recess, to session to consider important legislations as he may designate.

VII. Electoral Tribunal In Each House

Composed of 9 members: 3 Justice of SC, and the remaining 6 shall be members of the senate or the house of representatives.

Exercise exclusive Jurisdiction over all contests relating to the election, returns and qualifications of their respective members.

IX. Commission Appointments

Composed of 25 members, headed by the senate president as its ex-office chairman, 12 senators and 12 members of the house of representatives.

Functions: - approve or disapprove appointments made by the president.

The chairman of the CA shall not vote, except in case of a tie.

The commission shall rule by a majority vote of all the members.

X. Power to declare existence of a state of war.

The Constitution grants congress the sole power to declare the existence of state of war, by a vote or concurrence of 2/3 of both houses in joint session assembled, [but] voting separately.

The war contemplated here is a defensive, not an aggressive war because…the Philippines renounce war as instrument of national policy (Art. II, Sec. 2)

XI. Appropriations BILL

Definition- The primary and specific aim of which is to make appropriations

of money from the public treasury.Kinds of Appropriations:1. Annual or general – set aside the annual expenses for the

general operation of the government; more popularly known as the budget;

2. Special/supplemental – includes all appropriations not contained in the budget;

3. Specific – one which sets aside a named sum of money for the payment of a particular expense; and

4. Continuing – one which provides a definite sum to be always available from year to year, w/o the necessity of further legislative action.

Automatic Re-appropriation

Definition

– in case of failure of congress to pass the annual budget for the ensuing fiscal year, the budget for the preceding fiscal year shall be deemed re-enacted.

How a bill becomes a lawBill – a proposal law; a draft of a law submitted to the consideration of legislative body for its adoption.

Steps in passing a ball:

1. First Reading;2. Referral to the appropriate committee;3. Second Reading; committee;4. Debates ;5. Printing & Distribution;6. Third Reading;7. Referral to the other House;8. Submission to joint bicameral9. Submission to the president

When bill may become law;

1. When the president approves the bill by signing it;

2. When he vetoes the bill…and the same is re-passed over his veto by a vote of 2/3 of all the members of both houses; and

3. If the president does not communicate his veto…within 30 days…in which case it shall automatically become a law (pocket veto)

Formal Parts of a law;

1. Title – it announces the subject matter of the act;2. Preamble – it follows the title and precedes the enacting

clause. It is a sort of introduction or preface of a law;3. Enacting clause – it immediately precedes the body of

the statute and it serve as a formal means of identifying the legislative body that enacts the law;

4. Body – it is that portion containing the proposed law or statute itself; and

5. Effectively clause – it is that portion providing for the time when the law shall take effect.

Veto Power of the president Veto – Latin term for “I forbid” or “I deny” – it is the power

vested in the president to disapproved acts passed by congress.

XII. RULES OF TAXATION

1. Uniformity in Taxation – “all taxable articles or properties of the same class shall be taxed at the same rate.”

2. Equity in taxation – requires that such apportionment be more or less just considering the taxpayer’s ability to shoulder the tax burden and, if warranted, on the basis of the benefits he receives from the government.

3. Progressive system of taxation – tax laws shall place more emphasis on direct (e.g. income tax) rather than on indirect taxes.

XIII. Rules Powers of the people:

1. Initiative – the reserved power of the people to directly propose and enact laws.

2. Referendum - the submission of a law or part thereof passed by congress or a local

3. Legislative body to the people for their approval or disapproval.